When cities and villages began striking deals with energy suppliers three years ago to provide electricity to residents and small businesses, they could boast of beating Commonwealth Edison Co.'s rates by 25 percent or more.

The big money in bioengineered crops goes to giants Monsanto and DuPont Pioneer which have a lock on corn and soybeans. But Chromatin, a company that grew out of research at the University of Chicago, has found a field of its own: lowly sorghum.